Project description
Characterising interfacial transport in solar-driven interfacial evaporation
Increasing water scarcity is one of the most pressing challenges of the century. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) technology uses solar-driven evaporation to separate water from its impurities, producing clean water from sources including seawater, desalination effluents and industrial wastewater. It is a low-cost and environmentally friendly way to address water scarcity and water pollution. SDIE relies on large pressure and temperature gradients close to the air-water interface affecting liquid-vapour interactions. Funded by the European Research Council, the SolWator project aims to characterise transport during desalination to enable accurate predictions of interfacial fluxes. It will do so by combining microscopic thermography, fluorescent and optical imaging, computational fluid dynamics and theoretical approaches.
Objective
Facing water scarcity that affects two-thirds of the global population, our planet's demand for sustainable solutions has never been more critical. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) is a promising method to produce fresh water using solar energy. Despite many advancements in material development, the fundamentals of interfacial transport have been left untouched. With localized heating proximate to the interface, SDIE departs from conventional evaporation mechanisms by creating pronounced temperature and pressure gradients proximate to the interface, substantially affecting liquid-vapor interactions. This distinction prompts reevaluating traditional models and concepts, highlighting the pressing need for an updated framework. With its primary objective as crafting a transport scheme for accurate interfacial flux predictions, I will examine SDIE using concurrent advanced microscopic thermography, fluorescent, and optical imaging techniques along with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and theoretical approaches to reveal uncharted dimensions of desalination. SolWator proposes innovative 3D patterned hybrid structures that provide optimum hydrothermal conditions for maximum evaporation from liquid meniscus. This will be accompanied by the formulation of updated CFD and theoretical models to understand the effects of localized intense heating on the coupling of interfacial heat/momentum transport and vapor diffusion in SDIE. With SolWator identifying bottlenecks, it provides optimization guidelines and sustainability studies. The outputs address one of the most pressing challenges of our time, making SDIE highly feasible for clean water shortage challenges and enhancing the socio-economic facets of our global community. The predictive tools and the knowledge gained will also have far-reaching benefits for other phase change and localized heating areas, including microreactors, oil recovery, and propulsion technologies.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planets
- engineering and technology chemical engineering separation technologies desalination
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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B15 2TT Birmingham
United Kingdom
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